Lawyers for two of President Donald Trump’s enemies who have been indicted by the Justice Department are set to ask a federal judge to dismiss the cases against them, saying the prosecutor who obtained the indictments was illegally appointed to the position.
Alexandria, Virginia– Lawyers for Two enemies of President Donald Trump Those charged by the Justice Department are scheduled to ask a federal judge on Thursday to dismiss the cases against them, saying the prosecutor who obtained the indictments was illegally appointed to the position.
The challenges to the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia are part of a multi-pronged effort by former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James to dismiss their cases before trial.
The issues at issue during Thursday’s arguments were the complex constitutional and legal rules governing the appointment of the nation’s U.S. attorneys, who serve as senior federal prosecutors in Justice Department offices across the country.
This role is typically filled by attorneys nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Prosecutors have the power to circumvent that process by appointing a temporary US attorney who can serve for 120 days, but Comey and James’ lawyers point out that once that period expires, the law gives federal judges in that district exclusive authority over who can fill the vacancy.
But that is not what happened in this case.
After then-Interim U.S. Attorney Eric Seibert He resigned in September while facing pressure from the Trump administration to bring charges against Comey and James, and Attorney General Pam Bondi — at Trump’s public request — installed Halligan to the position.
Bondi appointed Seibert last January to serve as interim US Attorney General. Trump announced in May his intention to nominate him, and the judges in the Eastern District unanimously agreed after the 120-day period expired that he should retain the position. But after the Trump administration effectively fired him in September, the Justice Department again chose to make a temporary appointment rather than through the courts, something defense lawyers say it is not authorized by law to do.
Prosecutors in these cases argue that the law does not expressly bar successive appointments of interim US attorneys by the Justice Department, and that even if Halligan’s appointment is deemed invalid, the appropriate remedy is not to dismiss the indictment.
Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges of making a false statement and obstruction of Congress, and James has pleaded not guilty to mortgage fraud allegations. Their lawyers have separately argued that the prosecutions were inappropriately retaliatory, were motivated by the president’s personal animus toward their clients, and should therefore be dismissed.